Granted
by My5tic-Lali
Summary: Many people he knew took things for granted. There had been a time when Ed had taken things for granted too. One-shot, Focus on Ed, SPOILERS INSIDE-proceed with caution unless you have seen ep 62-63 of Brotherhood


**Timeline:** Episode 62-63 of Brotherhood

Many people he knew took things for granted.

Toys.

Food.

Houses.

Limbs.

Security.

Family.

_Life._

There had been a time when Edward Elric had took those things for granted as well.

But that was before _that_ night. _That_ night. The night when everything went terribly wrong. Things had actually started going wrong long before _that_ night, ever since _he_-Edward refused to call _him_ anything else except a few swear words-had left, ever since Ed's mom died. Ever since then it was as if the world turned upside-down. For a while there was peace with Teacher, learning alchemy, but that had ended too. But everything just fell apart then.

He and Al had thought everything out so well. Why-_why _had it gone so wrong? They worked so hard and for so long, all for everything to turn out as bad as it did.

Ed supposed it could be worse. He could have been too late to save even Al's soul, and then he would be alone. Something worse could've been taken from Ed-some of his insides like Teacher, years of his life, both his legs, or really anything else. Al could've taken longer to get to the Rockbell's, and he, Edward, could've bled to death. But it didn't.

It just left Al as a soul confined in armor, invulnerable unless something happened to his blood seal, just left Ed with no arm and no leg. That's all.

So after _that _night, Edward stopped taking things for granted. He nearly lost his brother, and he realized how much he relied on Al, how much he _needed_ Al, because without Al there was no family left. No one left to live for. He really _did_ lose two of his limbs, and he knew that if they ever got them back he would never take it for granted again. Never. He stopped taking home for granted, especially once his State Alchemist license, given the unpredictability of his situation, he never knew where he would sleep one night after the other. He stopped taking security for granted. Between fighting Homunculus, doing his work for the Idiot Colonel, searching for the Stone, and trying to avoid getting clobbered by Winry, he spent a majority of his and Al's time getting stabbed, impaled, knocked out, and generally almost dying.

So Edward stopped taking things for granted. Or, at least he _thought_ he did.

Sometimes he found himself relying on Winry's automail fix-ups, on Mustang's quips about his height, on Major Armstrong's bone-breaking hugs, on Teacher beating them up, but mostly he was taking _Al_ for granted. Taking for granted Al's laugh, tinny and echoey inside his helmet, his selflessness, his untiring, unfeeling body, just Al _being there_. Even after Ed had nearly lost him, nearly lost the only family that mattered to him, he was still taking Al for granted.

Al was so indestructable, and yet so vulnerable. He could withstand gunshots, sword wounds, getting blown up, but when it boiled down to it Al was more frail than anyone else. The only thing tying him to this world was that seal on his back, and if anything broke the circle, if anything muddled the rune, then Al was gone, soul drawn back to his body, armor empty as a graveyard.

But it had never occurred to Ed that Al would _willingly_ give up that seal. Would _willingly_ leave Ed and all their friends behind. But he did. As Ed watched in horror, Mei had thrown her daggers and Al had _willingly_ given up his soul for Ed's arm. With nothing more than a murmured "Keep fighting, Brother."

_Gone._

Armor empty.

All for Edward.

The world froze. Ed could barely breathe. He saw the flash of alchemic energy, and felt his eyes widen.

He could barely tear his eyes away from the empty armor, but he felt something from his left side. Something he hadn't felt in years.

He felt an arm.

So he tore his eyes away from the place Al's armor lay and turned to look down at what had previously been an empty automail port. But now it was not. There, thin and atrophied, was an _arm_.

_An arm_.

Ed's breath caught in his throat.

_An arm._

The thing he and Al had been trying to achieve for four years.

_An arm_.

Emotions battled for dominance in Ed's mind. Rage. Happiness. Fear. Astonishment. Bewilderment. Determination.

Rage won.

Edward clapped his hands together-_both _hands, both _flesh _hands-and felt alchemical energy charging up _both_ of his hands. A fist shot out of the ground and threw Father across the battered courtyard. Ed grabbed the pole impaled on his left arm and ripped it out, screaming his rage as he did.

After throwing the rod aside, Ed slapped his hands together once again and sent multiple pillars of rock barraging once after another toward the bastard. He could vaguely hear his friends cheering him on, Teacher, Colonel Mustang, Lt. Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, even his horrible father, shouting words of encouragement.

But he barely heard them. Ed's mind was consumed with rage, thinking only on one thing. Destroying the not-so-bearded guy.

And getting Al back.

Destroying Father.

_Getting Al back._

Ed fought with everything he had, throwing punches, pillars of rock, and generally taking every bit of his anger out on the delusional idiot who thought he could be god.

* * *

Father had lost. And now everyone was gathered around Ed, Mei, and the armor that had previously harboured Al's soul. Ed could barely tear his eyes away from the mangled armor. _What was there left to give? _Ed was not leaving Al stuck in that place with Truth, not while he still had life in him. But what could he give to bring Al back? _All _of him, not just his soul.

What was there left to give?

Ed thought he had lost everything. There was nothing left to give. He had already lost it all. His arm. His leg. His home.

Then it hit him.

There was _one_ thing Ed still had left.

Something he had always taken for granted.

His alchemy.

He wasn't sure it would work, but it was the only thing he could think of.

So as he prepared to perform what most likely was going to be his last transmutation, Ed didn't feel sorrow. He didn't feel anger. He just accepted the inevitable. He was going to lose the one thing that had pretty much always been a constant in his life.

He even felt a bit of pride as he felt the circle go to work and he found himself face to face with Truth once again.


End file.
